Advance guard circles wagons

Denmark's sceptical voters may well have shot themselves in the foot by unintentionally giving new impetus to plans for structures facilitating multi-speed European integration.

A senior Commission official admitted yesterday he has already seen signs of increased determination among the EU's founding states, long-time advocates of closer integration, not to be held back by recalcitrant latecomers.

Far from sowing seeds of doubt about integration, the Danish vote appears to have reinforced support for plans to enhance "flexibility" structures being discussed at the treaty-changing Inter-Governmental Conference which some fear may lead to a two-tier EU. Europe's advance guard is not in retreat but circling the wagons.

Brussels has not been surprised. The Danes have done it before and the No vote had largely been assumed in advance. Finance Ministers yesterday merely rallied to the euro after the briefest of debates.

France's president of the eurogroup, Mr Laurent Fabius, told journalists the vote would make no difference to the currency, which represented a zone of 300 million people.

The President of the European Central Bank, Mr Wim Duisenberg, insisted on "business as usual" and made no bones about what he clearly saw as folly. "The Danish people," he said, "have chosen to deprive themselves of the benefits that Denmark would have derived from participation in the euro."

European Commission President Romano Prodi said: "The deepening of economic union continues to be our main task." He expressed the Commission's "regret" and said, "I firmly believe that a positive vote would have been in our common interest." The euro had already proved its worth as a global currency, he said.

But those concerned about the medium-term were less sanguine. The problem had never been with the Danish consequences of their vote, but how it would be perceived in London and Stockholm, also due to vote on accession to the euro. Clearly no one in either country will be rushing their fences.

In Dublin, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said the vote had been as much anti-European as anti-euro and acknowledged the likely knock-on in both countries. But even if it delayed British accession, the pros would still outweigh the cons for Irish membership, he insisted .

In Stockholm, the Prime Minister, Mr Goran Persson, said the vote would make no difference to the timing of the Swedish poll, expected not be held before the next election in 2002. He told TV viewers that "by the time we have a referendum the Danish referendum will be long-forgotten".

Sweden's Social Democratic government faces many of the same problems as in Denmark. There has been a dramatic rise in support for the euro-sceptical Left Party and polls suggest the euro will face an uphill battle there.